Security & Theft Securing tractor from theft

[aczlan]

There you go.. reverse 2 plug wires when you leave then let some poor sucker hand crank it!

what an idea, it would look fine to an unsuspecting thief, however once he tries to start it, he is SOL.


Aaron Z

 

[aczlan]

how is this:


requirments: corner of wall that is below grade, bulldozer
park tractor as close to corner as possible and block it in with bulldozer, then disable the bulldozer after sinking the blade and the scarafiers into the ground.


that does bring us back to how to disable a simple engine, hmmmmmmmmm.....


Aaron Z

 

[PILOON]

I like the quick disconnect trick.
Many if not all FEL's will have QD's in the lines.
Have the up circuit be female to female and have a pair of males joined with a short nipple.
The pair of males would be your "key" that you remouve.
Now when you park the tractor you lower the bucket (best if you have a tooth bar) 'til the front wheels are jacked off of the ground.
Now try to load the tractor on a tilt and load with that bucket dug in!
How many thieves will have a pair of male QD's in their kit?
And will they be able to cut a steel braided hose line to relieve the pressure?

Better still leave a pair male fittings in the line BUT weld the oil passage shut thereby blocking the bucket lift ability.

When you operate it you simply substitute the blocked fittings with your open flow set.

I do not believe there exists a tilt and load that could load a tractor who's FEL is dragging the bucket teeth in the ground!

Cost, maybe $30-40 for a set of fittings!

 

[Soundguy]

To answer the question on the hose.. yes.. a bat powered abrasive cutoff saw will cut that hose like cheeze..

soundguy

 

[aczlan]

Now try to load the tractor on a tilt and load with that bucket dug in!
How many thieves will have a pair of male QD's in their kit?
And will they be able to cut a steel braided hose line to relieve the pressure?

they wont need to cut it (although as soundguy said, a batt cutoff saw would go through the line in a rapid manner) a pair of wrenches and the line comes off either the fitting or the cyl, then the bucket will float

Better still leave a pair male fittings in the line BUT weld the oil passage shut thereby blocking the bucket lift ability.
When you operate it you simply substitute the blocked fittings with your open flow set.

good idea, sort of like swapping wires on a hand crank tractor, looks good till you try to use it, however I dont think it would be feasible to swap QD's on the bucket hydraulics while they are holding the tractor in the air...

I do not believe there exists a tilt and load that could load a tractor who's FEL is dragging the bucket teeth in the ground!

if you loosen the lines on the curl cylinders the weight of the tractor would roll it back and let you hook a chain onto it and slide it along the ground.


Aaron Z

 

[MossRoad]

Detail a method that will effectively prevent theft of a tractor parked in a field. The theft deterrent has to be something that is not so much hassle for the owner that he won't keep using it.

If neither SoundGuy, N-80, nor myself can't see a way to defeat the theft deterrent, then your method will be logged into the semi finals. Advancing from the semi finals to the finals will be based on the three judges voting on the candidate solutions. Wining the final round will get your name placed into a drawing where you may qualify for a swell prize. Good luck.

Pat

O.K. Take one of these and connect it to a few of those and control some of these.

How'd I do?

 

[aczlan]

O.K. Take one of these and connect it to a few of those and control some of these.

LOL, the only problem I can see is that if it dosent kill the thief he may sue you (and win) for his hospital bills + "pain and suffering" also, a animal or a leaf might set it off, and there is a possibility of reducing the tractor to a pile of scrap metal.


Aaron Z

 

[alchemysa]

Ideas to deter theft?

Just grow a tree up the middle of it.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/owning-operating/124129-starts-wont-move.html

 

[MossRoad]

LOL, the only problem I can see is that if it dosent kill the thief he may sue you (and win) for his hospital bills + "pain and suffering" also, a animal or a leaf might set it off, and there is a possibility of reducing the tractor to a pile of scrap metal.


Aaron Z

I suppose you're right. But a guy can dream, can't he?

 

[MossRoad]

I had a late 70's IH2500B. It was a 50PTO gas powered tractor/loader that I left unattended on my property for many years. I would take the rotor out from under the distributor cap and leave it in the ashtray of my pickup truck when I went home. I would also take the battery with me and shut off the fuel lines, plus disconnect the fuel shutoff solenoid from the carb. Good luck to stupid people trying to start that.

However, as noted, if someone really wants something, they are going to take it. No stopping them, just deterring them.

 

[patrick_g]

I smell a niche for a buisness here.

You sell a gps tracking unit that fits on the tractor somewhere out of sight. Then you sell monitoring service. If the tractor moves more than a predetermined distance from the area it normally is stored then the monitoring service calls the owner to see if he has it on a trailer. If the owner is not the one monitoring it then the monitoring service calls the police and vectors them to the area where the tractor is. You could make a specially designed taillight with the gps tracking unit in it or something of that nature.

Pat you want to help me design it and put up some investment capital.

we could give a 15 per cent discount to TBNers

Note the cell phone jammer. Jamming GPS is even easier than jamming cell phones. The monitor may know the tractor's GPS is "LOST" but will have no clue where it is as the system you describe requires the device to tell the monitor where it is. That is why when I designed the anti-theft device for heavy equipment I had the units periodically send an I'm OK message. Disabling the unit prevents it from sending the I'm OK message and results in scrambling the security troops.

The GPS system would essentially be reduced to the same approach by GPS jamming. All yo know is that there is a problem. IF the tractor is loaded and moving out you have no clue in what direction.

Take for example the JSOW (Joint Stand Off Weapon) it uses GPS but can be jammed. Hence the inertial backup. I think LOJACK would be more cost effective than supplying an anti theft device with inertial navigation telemetry to notify you of the ground track of the purloined equipment.

LOJACK seems like a reasonable approach.

A small shaped charge under the seat wired to the ignition switch (where you leave your keys in the ignition to make it more likely the thief will be in the seat when the switch is turned)
would probably stop the average thief.

OK so you are too timid for that approach. How about a small squib in a dye pack ala the bank's booby trap?

Pat

 

[Max2310]

How about that:

 

[orezok]

I'm seeing a lot of "outrigger" locks on our construction sites. Basically, the tractor is raised up on the outriggers to it's highest elevation and a steel "sleeve" is placed around the exposed cylinder rod. The ones I have seen are made of 3/8" plate and the locks are fully recessed and shielded making it virtually impossible to cut. Yes, if you wanted to spend an hour with a cut off wheel or torch you could remove it. It would also work on the FEL cylinders after you raised the front end off the ground. I'm told that the locks use a side pin mechanism that defeats just drilling out the cylinder.

 

[patrick_g]

How about that:

And how do you protect it against thieves in heavy lift helicopters?

Pat

 

[tallyho8]

Pat
I see you have updated your signature line and I suspect that a certain person has thought of that already and therefore is fearful of choosing that running mate.

Sure hope this wasn't a political statement!

And now, back to tractor theft...........

 

[aczlan]

I'm seeing a lot of "outrigger" locks on our construction sites. Basically, the tractor is raised up on the outriggers to it's highest elevation and a steel "sleeve" is placed around the exposed cylinder rod.

sounds good if one has a backhoe

It would also work on the FEL cylinders after you raised the front end off the ground. I'm told that the locks use a side pin mechanism that defeats just drilling out the cylinder.

not really, you could use it on the curl cyls but it could be defeated by raising the arm cyls.

Aaron Z

 

[RollTideRam]

If this is a cab tractor, put a copperhead in the cab, tie a pit bull to the front and a skunk to the rear. Then put a tent 20' to the side. JC

 

[gemini5362]

Note the cell phone jammer. Jamming GPS is even easier than jamming cell phones. The monitor may know the tractor's GPS is "LOST" but will have no clue where it is as the system you describe requires the device to tell the monitor where it is. That is why when I designed the anti-theft device for heavy equipment I had the units periodically send an I'm OK message. Disabling the unit prevents it from sending the I'm OK message and results in scrambling the security troops.

The GPS system would essentially be reduced to the same approach by GPS jamming. All yo know is that there is a problem. IF the tractor is loaded and moving out you have no clue in what direction.

Take for example the JSOW (Joint Stand Off Weapon) it uses GPS but can be jammed. Hence the inertial backup. I think LOJACK would be more cost effective than supplying an anti theft device with inertial navigation telemetry to notify you of the ground track of the purloined equipment.

LOJACK seems like a reasonable approach.

A small shaped charge under the seat wired to the ignition switch (where you leave your keys in the ignition to make it more likely the thief will be in the seat when the switch is turned)
would probably stop the average thief.

OK so you are too timid for that approach. How about a small squib in a dye pack ala the bank's booby trap?

Pat

Pat you are giving thieves way too much credit. Look at onstar on GM products they find a lot of stolen cars through onstar yet it is common knowledge that they are there. My inlaws in tulsa had a neighbor that one morning about 2am the police called and asked if he owned a blue cadillac license # whataever it was. He said yes. They asked if he knew where it was and he said it is in the garage. When they asked him to go look he found it gone.The police told him where to go pick it up. Somebody had stolen it and was playing with the buttons and pushed the on star button. When the representative came on line and asked for the password they did not know it and so onstar called the police. I was thinking for a tractor that you would make the GPS fit into a taillight assembly. Use a rechargeable battery and power it off the tractor. It would be right out in the open (usually the best place to hide anything) All you would need is software to monitor it being moved and there you go. If the thieves realized that it was there it would not be effective but they would have to realize you had something in the taillight. My impression of most thieves is that they want to just grab it and take off with it and worry about other stuff later. But if you dont want to go in on this project with me that is ok. When I am driving up to your house in a porsche dont feel bad.

 

[gemini5362]

I'm seeing a lot of "outrigger" locks on our construction sites. Basically, the tractor is raised up on the outriggers to it's highest elevation and a steel "sleeve" is placed around the exposed cylinder rod. The ones I have seen are made of 3/8" plate and the locks are fully recessed and shielded making it virtually impossible to cut. Yes, if you wanted to spend an hour with a cut off wheel or torch you could remove it. It would also work on the FEL cylinders after you raised the front end off the ground. I'm told that the locks use a side pin mechanism that defeats just drilling out the cylinder.

How long would it take someone with a portable generator and a plasma cutter to remove that ?
Last time I looked a plasma cutter that would sever 3/8 inch plate was less than 2000.00 and the generator to run it about 1000.00. Not much investment for someone to make especially if he steals them too.

 

[orezok]

How long would it take someone with a portable generator and a plasma cutter to remove that ?
Last time I looked a plasma cutter that would sever 3/8 inch plate was less than 2000.00 and the generator to run it about 1000.00. Not much investment for someone to make especially if he steals them too.

Well, while not impossible, I seriously doubt that a thief is carrying a plasma cutter and generator with him. I suppose that a few ounces of C4 would accomplish the same thing and a lot sooner.